Inês Meninas

Midfielder • Age 20 • #3

Inês Vitória Paniousko Meninas is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a centre-back. She has represented Portugal at senior and youth international level, including the U19 and U20 national teams.

Photo: IMAGO | ABACAPRESS

Fun Facts about Inês

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Her older brother João sparked her love of football. He used to take her outside to play, even taking her dolls away so they could enjoy football together.

She was a competitive middle-distance runner before choosing football. Her speciality was the 1,500 metres, and athletics was a serious part of her childhood.

Jéssica Silva was her childhood football inspiration. Meninas admired the Portuguese international partly because they both grew up in the Alentejo region.

Her father helped her dream of representing Portugal. They used to watch Portugal's U15 matches together, and he would joke that she might one day wear the national shirt.

She took several days to decide whether to choose football over athletics. When Benfica offered her the opportunity to play, she discussed the decision with her parents before committing to football.